you guy's are nearly spoiled with all your choices....but..I now have a cage for my widows...in case I can't get anymore rims..maybe I should have gotten a bigger truck so I would have more choices...naww.. I like my little orphan...

 

Neighbor up the road has a cage, and several old early 60's trucks. If I ever see him out and about, I'll ask if he has the wheel you are looking for.

 

that would be great !!thank you..I have 4 17 inch wheels and one 16 inch..not good if I ever get a flat..

 

Thank You Truckdog for the help! I found out yesterday that both of the trucks have the original widowmaker rims on them, so now I think I will jump on the tires that are in Bend, OR and get those while I can. Since those are a little bit smaller tire will they affect the way that the truck drives?? The ad for the tires in Los Angeles would not work, so I guess those are no longer an option. But you said that there were some members that had some 22.5 tires for sale, could I get the contact info for them please? Also again will the 22.5 tires affect the way that the truck drives?? Thank You again for all your help!! You guys are best help with these old trucks that I have found so far!

 

Looks like the seller in L.A. pulled the ad which says they are sold.

The stock 20" wheels on your F-6s are probably 6" wide which says they could be fitted with either 20" x 7.50" tires or 20" x 8.25" tires. These will have an approximate 38" outside tire diameter, slightly less if they are 7.50s. It's also possible you could have a mix of 5" wide and 6" wide wheels that would have been equipped with 7.50s on the front and 8.25s on the rear.

The tubeless equivalent of a 20" tube type wheel/tire combo is a 22.5". The below diagram shows the design differences between the two. The centers on each are the same, but you'll see that the "drop center" rim of the 22.5" moves the tire mounting surface outward to yield the added 2.5" wheel diameter. The 20" in the picture is a "lock ring" style, but will be the size equal of your widow makers. Notice that the 9-22.5" tire is the same 38" outside diameter as an 8.25" x 20" tube type.



One of the drawbacks to the old 22.5" wheels is the fact that few were rated for use with radial tires. Keep in mind that radials didn't come on the market until the mid 1960s. Wheel manufacturer literature shows that wheel designs on some sizes were strengthened to handle radials. The manufacturers would not warrant their wheels for radials in all cases.

The other issue with 22.5s, the earliest were 5.25" wide and were designed for either 7" x 22.5" or 8" x 22.5" tires that don't exist today in this country. The narrowest today is a 9R22.5. There were also 6" and 6.75" wheel sizes made that were approved for use with the 9" bias ply tires. I know of owners that use 9R22.5s on the 5.25" rims and say they work fine. I saw several trucks so equipped at the ATHS show this past weekend. I point it out, though, to give a full explanation.

A 19.5" wheel tire combo, using the above concepts, is the equal of a 17" tube type. An 8R19.5" tire will be approximately 34" in outside diameter. Also, when you find these wheels, many will have been fitted with 225/70R19.5" low profile tires that are about 32" in outside diameter. To me these 225/70s look too small on a truck, but the 8" look fine to me. The 19.5" wheels were, to my knowledge, all made by the Budd Company. The oldest of them is part #72070 that is 5.25" wide, the latest and most common is 6" wide and part #89340. The older 5.25" wheel would not have been rated for use with radials, but the 6" was approved for radials. The 19.5s will affect your speedometer reading because of the shorter tire diameter.

I spoke with one of our members this past weekend who had just sold his set of 22.5s. The other person, Kevin Bigwin, I think still has his but I'm not positive of it. I'll do him a private message to ask.

Which wheel/tire combo to go with will probably depend on how you plan to use the truck(s). Parade duty or similar low stress usage won't put the lateral loads on wheels that would have been the case during their working lives. The 22.5s are technically the correct replacement for your 20s, but the 19.5s are generally more easily found locally. You being in Oregon, many old motor homes with them go there to die. Shipping costs on these things will be an issue.

A third option is to find locking ring 20"s. Your 1940s truck might have them since the widow makers didn't come on the market until the last half of the '40s decade. These can still be used. Also, your local Les Schwab can get you remanufactured 20"s or 19.5"s from their contractor, American Wheel Specialist in Pasco, WA. AWS can also do custom 22.5s but, as explained to me, they don't have a reliable source of narrow enough 22.5" outer rims. Stu

 

Howdy,


This is what I did......

I bought a set of 6 rebuilt 20" lock-ring wheels from Les Schwab in Bonney Lake Wa...... The shop manager told me thay came from Pasco.

I also bought 2 new TOYO 9.00-20 radials and 4 recapped radials for the back from them.

It wasn't cheep! (about $2800!)

If you decide to stick with the 20" wheels, I still have 4 usable 8.25-20 tires (on unusable wheels) you can have, if you want them.

The wheels are unsafe and not usable....but the tires and tubes and flaps still have life in them!! whomever wants them can have them!







Cheers,


Rick

 

If you want to look into the 22.5s, Kevin Bigwin still has his set. He said I should just post his email address for you to contact him if interested. It is bigwin56f100 at yahoo dot com. Stu

 

Wow, Thank you all for the help, it was extremely helpful!! I will check with my local Les Schwab and see if they can come up with any correct replacement SAFE wheels and tires before I go and get any others first. Thank You again, and have a great day!

 

Instead of going to Les Schwab, why not cut out the middle man and go directly to American Wheel Specialists. Their number is 509-543-9305. If they don't have a supply of the original wheel centers for modifying, I have a bunch I'm looking to be rid of. I'm local.

 

As explained to me by Juan Murillo, owner of AWS, their wholesale agreement with Schwab requires they sell through Schwab dealers to customers living in the Schwab service area. Which is essentially all western states. Those of us living east of Schwab's service area can work directly with AWS. Stu

 

So it looks like I would have to go through Schwabs to get any tires from AWS. But if for some reason I can go directly through AWS then I may take you up on those wheel centers that you have 52 Merc. Thank You all again for your help. I will see what I can find out tomorrow and let you all know, just so you know. Thanks again and have a great day!

 

You wouldn't have to go through Schwab for tires, but you would need to work through them on custom wheels if you are interested in getting them from AWS.

Donor widow maker centers probably aren't in short supply. When I visited AWS they had a yard out back with racks and racks of donor wheels of all descriptions. There were some bolt patterns they did not have on hand, (6 x 7.25" to be specific, Ken) but our 5 x 8" were plentiful at the time. I'd be surprised if that's changed since my visit.

As Rick suggested above, going with custom wheels will be probably your most costly alternative. Each wheel will cost probably $250+, then add tires of equal value and you're looking at $3000 in short order. If you go that direction I'd sure try to do it with 22.5" rims. Below is an old thread where a member was successful in having AWS find him narrow 6.75" x 22.5" outer rims. The new wheels are pictured in the thread too.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ew-22-5-a.html

If new wheels are your first priority over used wheels, AWS also has available new 19.5" aftermarket wheels. They don't look exactly like old wheels, having a wider wheel face and smaller vent holes, but they work great. We think the wider face of these wheels is designed to accommodate disc brake calipers on motor homes. Here's an old thread where a member describes his experience with these wheels.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...xperience.html

If cost is your first priority, Kevin told me he's asking $160 each for his used 22.5s. Shipping would probably take that to around $200 each. The cheapest route would be the 19.5s in Bend at $350 for the full set of six. Stu

 

When I got my wheels, I believe they were something like $200 ea.

Then Les Scwhab sent them to their facility to blast and powdercoat them
for an additional $25 each. ($225 total )

That part was not all that bad a deal.....


The tires were something like $200 + new tubes, flap and mounting (each)

If I had to do it all over again, I might try to find 22.5's. I don't think I would want 19.5's because of the smaller diameter.

But I think the cost would be similar unless you got used wheels (cheep) and used tires etc.....

 

I have been seeing lots of 19.5 RV wheels/tires here in Salt Lake area, in fact I have another set of 6 from a late 50's ford stepvan I need to go pull, (just need the time) they will need new tires but still lots of decent used RV tires around too.

I really don't need this second set of 19.5's either, I just told the guy I would take them as they were probably going to get scrapped eventually anyway. Let me know if I can help, but those tires in Bend seem to be a good deal especially if the tires are good.

btw lots of decent 20" lockrings to be had around here too.

later
Josh

 

Ok thank you all for the help and suggestions on locating some tires and wheels for me. I am still asking around the area that I live to see if there are any old ones around here anywhere. My next problem I have noticed is that the marker lights on the bed on the 1950 are broken and or missing and I want to keep my truck as original as possible, do any of you know where I can still buy 6 volt lights?? Thank You and have a great day.